Episode Title: “Step Nine”
Writers: Robert Doherty and Craig Sweeny
Director: John Polson
Previously on “Elementary:”
In the season premiere of “Elementary,” Sherlock (Jonny Lee Miller) and Watson (Lucy Liu) take their relationship to the next level – London. It was only a matter of time before the show “jumped the pond,” giving us some more insight into Sherlock’s past and his and Watson’s potential future.
And about that future, one of the most refreshing things about “Elementary” has been its avoidance of the ole “Will they? Won’t they?” routine. Based on this episode, that avoidance may soon turn into an embrace. When they arrive at Sherlock’s old flat, which he hypes to Watson as a kind of museum of oddities and curiosities from his investigations, the two are greeted by Sherlock’s brother, Mycroft (Rhys Ifans). Mycroft asks Watson to dinner and Sherlock suspects he’s planning to bed her to get revenge for the last time he saw Sherlock, when he was “face deep” in Mycroft’s fiancée.
Watson isn’t interested in Mycroft, but Sherlock thinks she’ll sleep with him anyway, as an act of “transference,” as it’s Sherlock she really wants. Those viewers who are actually hoping for a Watson/Sherlock hook-up might be encouraged by the comment, but it really says more about Sherlock’s untamed ego than his feelings about Watson. Or does it?
Should Sherlock and Watson get together, it wouldn’t be the worst cliché coupling of a police procedural pair. That said, it still shouldn’t happen, not just because it’s a lame idea but also because Watson is Sherlock’s sober companion and yet, it probably will. Oh well.
With that out of the way, the rest of the episode is an entertaining jaunt through Sherlock’s old stomping grounds where he once solved cases on behalf of Scotland Yard detective, Gareth Lestrade (Sean Pertwee). When Lestrade unsuccessfully tried to prove Lawrence Pendry (Rufus Wright), the son of a media mogul, killed his own wife, Pendry used the family business to ruin the detective’s career. Now that Lestrade’s gone missing after showing up at Pendry’s father funeral with a fake grenade, Sherlock’s summoned to find him.
It’s clear from the start that Pendry is the killer, but Lestrade can’t prove it, yet he desperately wants to reclaim the spotlight he once basked in thanks to all the big cases Sherlock secretly solved for him. Like Sherlock, Lestrade is an addict, something Sherlock quickly recognizes. And seeing as he’s on “Step 9,” the one about asking forgiveness, Sherlock’s reunion with Lestrade offers up the perfect opportunity to start making amends. After all, it was Sherlock who got Lestrade hooked on the fame and adulation that being one of Scotland Yard’s most celebrated detectives brings.
Through the course of the hour, Sherlock and Watson are able to prove Pendry killed his wife with a plastic gun he made with a 3-D printer. It’s a brilliant scheme, as guns are pretty hard to come by in London and Pendry is able to easily destroy the murder weapon by placing it in an acetone-filled milk jug.
When Pendry realizes Sherlock is on to him, he forges another plastic pistol and uses it to kill his accomplice. Sherlock is able to prove Pendry bought a 3-D printer and finds a piece of debris from the gun at the scene of the crime, thus leading to Pendry’s arrest. Sherlock apologizes to Lestrade for enabling his addiction and asks him not to take the credit for this one. But he later sees the unrepentant addict goes on television, explaining to the media how he solved the case. It’s an inventive take on addiction and it demonstrates just how far Sherlock has come with Watson’s help.
While Lestrade isn’t able to hear Sherlock, fortunately Mycroft is. At dinner with Watson, “Fatty,” as Sherlock likes to call his once obese brother, confesses to Watson that his weight loss was due to illness. Though he never reached out to his brother, Mycroft now wants to try and form the kind of relationship with Sherlock that Watson enjoys. Mycroft asks Sherlock to meet him outside the building where he’s storing the shrunken head, bomb making books and a Picasso original from Sherlock’s flat. Mycroft then tells his brother that Watson advised him to make sure Sherlock’s listening if you want to get through to him. He uses a remote control to trigger a homemade bomb, blowing up the portion of the building where Sherlock’s belongings were stored and tells Sherlock he forgives him before walking away.
If it were anyone else, there’d probably be hell to pay, but the stunt earns Sherlock’s respect, which isn’t at all surprising considering what we know about him. It’s an act of self-centered destructive grandeur, exactly what Sherlock loves and a great ending to an excellent season opener.
